Much has been written about driverless cars, but driverless trucks are much more likely to appear on America’s roads. The trucking industry is the lifeblood of the US economy – nearly 70% of all the freight tonnage moved in the United States goes on trucks.

Using self-driving vehicles could improve not only operating ratios, but improve other efficiencies and reduce downtime.

Major roads in the next 20 years will likely be redesigned to have dedicated driverless vehicle lanes to enhance both efficiency and safety. In other words, the trucking industry is ripe for disruption. But it’s going to take bold action on the part of both the automotive and shipping industries to make that happen.